host posted on February 08, 2009 12:54
Dear Readers,
February is here and we have all had time to make and break our New Year’s resolutions (myself included). Valentine’s Day is around the corner. How many thousands of pounds of “sugary love” are consumed at this time of year in the form of chocolate and other candy? It is not my intention to scare you but there are good reasons to get back “on the wagon” with regards to diet. Fungi love sugar. Cancers love sugar. I am more convinced than ever that “we are what we eat.” With that said, let’s get started on this month’s case study.
Here is my disclaimer: This case study is for educational purposes only. I am using it to show you how a typical patient presents and the things I consider when I make a diagnosis. The patient’s name has been changed to protect her identity. I practice integrative/alternative medicine and my recommendations for treatment are often considered outside traditional practice. It is not my intent to criticize or denounce traditional medicine. I am merely providing an alternative opinion. Most importantly, the information provided here should not be used as a substitute for an examination and/or treatment by a licensed health care provider.
Presenting illness: Mrs. Valentine is a 67 year old female who presented for evaluation and treatment of multiple skin lesions. She reported that the lesions have been present off and on since at least 2000. The lesions are located on her lower abdomen, legs and beneath her breasts. She has also noted a dimple in her right breast but no masses. She has seen several physicians and, as a result, Mrs. Valentine has been treated with multiple prolonged courses of antibiotics. Mrs. Valentine reported that the lesions would improve with antibiotics but would shortly reoccur. She is a fan of Know the Cause and began the initial phase diet in 2007 but had recently stopped following it faithfully.
Past Medical History: Mrs. Valentine has a history of degenerative disc disease, squamous cell carcinoma of the lip and outdoor allergies.
Medications: Cyproheptadine as needed for itching.
Vitamins/Supplements: Mrs. Valentine is on multiple vitamins and supplements which include Kyolic aged garlic extract, milk thistle, grape seed extract, vitamin C, calcium with D, magnesium, zinc, NSC-24 beta glucan with caprylic acid, probiotics, grapefruit seed extract or olive leaf extract and omega -3 fish oil.
Allergies: Sulfonamides, metronidazole and doxycycline.
Past Surgical History: Mrs. Valentine has undergone two cesarean sections. She also has a history of a squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip which was removed by wedge resection in 2005.
Social History: Mrs. Valentine is married with two grown children. She does not smoke or drink alcoholic beverages. She does not have a formal exercise routine but she does yard work. Her father was a farmer and she grew up in the country. Mrs. Valentine and her husband lived in town for 30 years in an old home with mold problems. Sixteen years ago, she and her husband moved to the country where her husband raises corn in their garden.
Family History: Mrs. Valentine reports a family history of inflammatory carcinoma of the breast in her sister who eventually died of that disease.
Review of Systems: Mrs. Valentine reports that she has had pneumonia in the past which required several rounds of antibiotics. She has had problems with gastro esophageal reflux and irritable bowel symptoms. She was diagnosed with diverticulitis in 2003 and treated with multiple courses of antibiotics. In addition to her degenerative disc disease, Mrs. Valentine reports that her joints and muscles ache. She has had problems with recurrent yeast infections and urinary tract infections in the past. She continues to have problems with fatigue, although she has noticed an improvement since starting the initial phase diet. Mrs. Valentine has lost 20 pounds, which she attributes to diet. She is experiencing hair loss and craves sugar and chocolate. Mrs. Valentine also reports a history of several root canals. The remainder of her review of systems is unremarkable.
Physical exam:
Blood pressure: 140/94 Pulse: 105 Height 5’6” Weight: 220 lbs.
Skin: Multiple patches of dry, scaly, reddened skin on her left leg. Also, noted on left lower extremity is an 8-10 millimeter, centrally located, raised, irregularly shaped, firm, warty-like lesion surrounded by an area of non-tender, reddened skin, which is approximately 3 centimeters in diameter. The remainder of her physical exam was unremarkable.
Assessment/Plan: On her initial consultation, it seemed fairly obvious to me that Mrs. Valentine was suffering from a chronic systemic fungal infection manifesting as skin lesions, dysbiosis and arthritis. I started her on Nystatin and fluconazole. I strongly encouraged Mrs. Valentine to continue the initial phase diet.
The lesion on her left leg was extremely suspicious for skin cancer, especially with her history of a previous squamous cell carcinoma of the lip. After discussion of several treatment options, including surgical removal, Mrs. Valentine felt that she would like to try sodium bicarbonate soaks applied to the lesion first.
Although I did not examine her breast on her initial examination, I recommended that Mrs. Valentine undergo further diagnostic evaluation to look for cancer. She was not comfortable with obtaining a mammogram, so I recommended breast thermography as an alternative.
I was certain that Mrs. Valentine had a problem with thyroid metabolism. I have yet to see a patient with chronic fungal disease and normal thyroid metabolism. I recommended that Mrs. Valentine keep a record of her oral temperatures to confirm the diagnosis.
Fast forward five months. During the interval, Mrs. Valentine noticed a lump in her right breast. Mrs. Valentine had not noticed this initially, which she thought may have been due to swelling and tenderness of her breast. She was uncertain as to how long it had been there. The dimple in Mrs. Valentine’s breast was actually an inversion of her nipple (a very worrisome sign). She underwent a procedure known as digital breast thermography. Her thermogram report strongly suggested the possibility of breast cancer. Based on her physical findings, thermogram and presentation a presumptive diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer was made.
Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC for short) is a relatively rare and fast growing type of breast cancer. This type of breast cancer tends to form “sheets of cancer cells” which block the flow of lymph fluid moving in the skin of the breast. As a result, the breast may become swollen, reddened, warm, and tender and appear to be infected. It can cause dimples in the skin and nipple inversion. With Inflammatory breast cancer, you can develop a lump but you can have it without having a lump in your breast. This explains the findings on Mrs. Valentine’s thermogram. Her thermogram is highly suspicious for malignancy in her right breast but also shows areas of lymph blockage in her left breast. She does not have any breast masses in her left breast. Unfortunately, by the time IBC is detected it has often spread to other areas and the lymph nodes.
Mrs. Valentine and I discussed her options, both traditional and alternative, including surgery for biopsy or removal, chemotherapy and radiation. We also discussed the possibility of treatment with sodium bicarbonate injections of the breast as pioneered by Dr. Tullio Simoncini, as well as treatment with intravenous high dose vitamin C. She had already discussed this with her family and she opted to continue alternative treatment with antifungal medications (ketoconazole and nystatin) and diet. We also continued to treat her for altered thyroid metabolism using over the counter thyroid supplements and armour thyroid. I also suggested that Mrs. Valentine begin to take a supplement developed by Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski of the Burzynski Clinic in Houston, Texas. Dr. Burzynski noted deficiencies of certain peptides and amino acids in the blood and urine of cancer patients. These amino acids, which he calls antineoplastons, have an effect on the manufacturing of proteins by the cell. These antineoplastons act as molecular switches which can turn off life processes in cancer cells. This forces the cancer cells to die through apoptosis (programmed cell death) like normal cells. This is a very lengthy subject and I cannot do it justice in this column. The simple theory is that, by replacing these missing amino acids, the cancer cells can revert back to normal and go through normal cell death. Antineoplastons do not have any effect on normal cells.
The lesion on her left leg was not making much progress using topical sodium bicarbonate, so Mrs. Valentine decided to try a topical medication called Curaderm. Curaderm (BEC) is a topical cream which has been shown to be an effective cure against squamous and basal cell carcinoma. I believe that skin cancers are actually fungal/human hybrid cells. Why do I say this? In brief, these “skin cancers” have receptors on their cell membranes for a sugar called rhamnose. These rhamnose receptors are found in plants and fungus. Normal human cells do not have these receptors. Curaderm is a compound made of an alkaloid (solasodine) attached to a rhamnose sugar molecule. When applied topically, the solasodine-rhamnose complex will attach to the cancer cell via the rhamnose receptor on the cancer cell wall. This allows the solasodine-rhamnose molecule to be carried into the cancer cell. Cancer loves sugar. Once inside the cancer cell, the rhamnose is cleaved from the solasodine molecule to be used for the production of energy. When this happens, the “detached” solasodine becomes toxic to the cell and causes the cancer cell to die. Since normal cells do not have this rhamnose receptor, they are not affected.
Fast forward to present. During the interval, Mrs. Valentine had a consultation with a local oncologist who recommended an ultrasound on her breast, and confirmed our diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer based on history and presentation. He was able to discuss traditional medical treatment options with her, including lumpectomy. At present, Mrs. Valentine has elected to continue on her antifungal drug regimen. She has been receiving intravenous high dose vitamin C weekly. She continues to follow an antifungal diet (although she had some lapses during the holidays). Since starting the diet, she has lost over 32 pounds. She reports that her right breast mass is decreasing in size and that her nipple is becoming less inverted. Mrs. Valentine reports that she feels great and is very positive about continuing her treatment.
I cannot emphasize how important diet is for the individual with cancer. It is crucial. I had the opportunity to see an amazing video. I will talk about it more in a future newsletter (if Doug doesn’t do it first). This video shows live blood samples under an extremely powerful microscope. In the blood of cancer patients, you can see fungi growing from the red blood cells and platelets. Even more startling is the fact that these “germs that cause cancer” can change their shape (pleomorphism) and multiply several times in less than fifteen minutes. When placed in an environment high in carbohydrates (average American diet), these germs grow very fast! “The milieu (diet) is everything. It is essential that patients with a diagnosis of cancer avoid sugar. If you have not been diagnosed with cancer, changing your diet could have a powerful effect towards the prevention of cancer.
I have hope that Mrs. Valentine can win the battle with her cancer. She is doing all the right things and, best of all, she feels great. If she does “cure” her cancer, there will be skeptics who say, “well it must not have been cancer.” You know what? I don’t care what they think. We will know and she will be alive and healthy.
For those of you who would like to read more about the fungal link to cancer, I recommend The Germ That Causes Cancer by Doug Kaufmann.
For those of you who would like to read more about Curaderm (BEC), I recommend The Eggplant Cancer Cure by Bill E. Cham Ph.D.
For those of you who are interested in learning more about antineoplaston therapy, I recommend the following website www.burzynskiclinic.com.
Blessings,
Lynn Jennings, M.D.
Champions Clinic